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For the unfamiliar, Windows 10X is a new version of Windows built from the ground up for foldable PCs. That doesn’t sound particularly applicable to IoT devices, but changes under the hood focus on removing legacy Windows components, and, crucially, improving security. As a result, an IoT OS built on Windows 10 X is likely to be more secure and will use modern technologies throughout. This extends to the UI, which is more heavily based on Fluent Design with a simple, centered taskbar....

More specifically, the company is sending out a Known Issue Rollback (KIR), which solves the gaming issues. With this KIR, Windows 10 users can rollback to a previous state, removing the gaming problems without losing the security fixes. This is also the first time the company has acknowledged the issue: “A small subset of users have reported lower than expected performance in games after installing this update. Most users affected by this issue are running games full screen or borderless windowed modes and using two or more monitors”....

If you’re unfamiliar with NSO Group, it is a company that has often been associated with attacks, despite maintaining a guise as a legitimate software vendor. In fact, the company has always claimed immunity from prosecution because it works directly with governments. Perhaps the most famous NSO Group-related attack was what the company’s Pegasus software was used in an attack on WhatsApp. During what was described as a sophisticated breach, attackers could place spyware on iOS and Android smartphones by just calling them through WhatsApp....

While Microsoft discussed the core features of its new devices, doing a deep dive on the products in a two-hour show is not possible. Now, Microsoft has looked at the upcoming Surface devices in more detail through a Microsoft Mechanics video. Specifically, the video focuses on the Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro X, and Surface Pro 7. The Surface Duo and Surface Neo are not discussed as they will not be launched until holiday season 2020....

The creating of the GVFS, Microsoft has a system that is able to deliver the benefits of Git without having to wait hours for commands to run. This is one of the limitations of regular Git. Microsoft’s Windows Git repository is 3.5 million files that are 300GB. Microsoft has open sourced Git Virtual File System, which is available under the MIT license on GitHub. The company says moving Window engineers to Git took around three months....

An open source version of File Manager is now available on GitHub, and it shows just how early the concept was nailed down. Introduced with Windows 3, it replaced cumbersome MS-DOS management, adding essential features like copy, paste, delete, and search. The project is largely thanks to Craig Wittenberg, a 35 -year Microsoft veteran who began for personal use. The tool works largely as it always used to, with some small limitations....

More specifically, Glint will become a part of LinkedIn, forming its own team. The employee’s expertise will be put to good use, creating learning experiences for managers on the social network. “Glint provides executives with the tools to answer questions about the health and happiness of the talent they have, while giving managers at all levels the access and insight they need to improve,” said Daniel Shapero, VP talent solutions, careers, and learning....

Office 365 Planner makes it easier for businesses to manage teamwork operations, allowing the creation of team-wide email notifications, project due dates, and visual dashboards. When Microsoft launched Planner in 2016, the company said it simplified workflow management: “The addition of Planner to the Office 365 lineup introduces a new and improved way for businesses, schools and organizations to structure team work easily and get more done. With Planner, teams can create new plans; organize, assign and collaborate on tasks; set due dates; update statuses and share files, while visual dashboards and email notifications keep everyone informed on progress....

Tens of millions of people around the world are now working from home following the COVID-19 pandemic forced nations to go into lockdown. During this time, it’s important Windows 10 functions at its best. When the platform moves through a major update like Windows 10 version 2004, there are often teething problems. Microsoft is avoiding those issues by postponing updates. “We have been evaluating the public health situation, and we understand this is impacting our customers....

With this mode, Microsoft says conferencing and collaboration environments gain a powerful new tool. To use the Presentation Mode, users can select the full screen button located in the menu bar. Once selected, Presentation Mode will reframe the screen to remove the app frame. Focus is entirely on the data and dashboard visuals when Presentation Mode is enacted. “Using Presentation mode in the Power BI app running on Surface Hub in your conference room and collaboration areas, better allows you to have meetings which focus on your data,” Microsoft explains....

To continue to pry users away from AWS, Microsoft is today published a cloud service map. Microsoft’s Azure cloud service map is available as a PDF download and is categorized in the following 13 sections: Azure vs. the Competition Then there is Google, down in third place by some distance, but way ahead of anything bringing up the rear.

The app is a reimagining of the older Journal app, enhanced by Microsoft inter-divisional collaboration division. With the new journal app, users get an ink-first experience that promotes the use of digital pens like Microsoft’s own Surface Pen. The new Microsoft Journal also uses AI to automatically categorize notes and enhance other features. Of course, many journaling apps are available, but most of the good ones are for mobile devices....

Despite making early strides in the in-dash infotainment market, Microsoft has seen its position slip to rivals like Google and Apple. This week, the company announced its Connected Vehicle Platform (MCVP) at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Billed as an evolving platform, Microsoft discussed how automotive OEMs can leverage MCVP to include the following services in their vehicles: In-vehicle experiences Autonomous driving Advanced navigation Customer engagement and insights Telematics and prediction services Connectivity and over the air updates (OTA)...

Now, the Xbox Team has released yet another 1705 preview build, the second one this week and fourth one in total. This latest preview build is a minor update which is released to solve an issue with the Xbox Store. Several users reported that they couldn’t access the Xbox Store when their consoles were set to a certain language and region configs. The Xbox Team has solved the problem, announcing the release in a Reddit post as well....

The same functionality has now rolled out to Outlook 2016. It gives access to the most common commands, such as formatting, calendar views, and joining meetings. Outlook 15.23 Changelog As well as Touch Bar, Outlook’s latest build introduces several features and improvements. Here’s the full changelog: “Touch bar support on the new MacBook Pro: In Outlook, the most relevant commands to what you’re working on are at your fingertips. (Compatible with MacBook Pro with Touch Bar only)....

The standalone security update is no longer on the Windows Update servers. Microsoft says the reason for the removal is because of “an issue affecting a sub-set of devices.” The company is now “working on an improved version of this update in coordination with our partners and will release it in a future update.” Labeled KB4524244, the security update was rolled out across all Windows 10 versions last week. It was launched to fix a vulnerability in the non-Microsoft Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) boot managers....

Softbank is reportedly readying a second investment, totaling $40 billion, in its Vision Fund. Microsoft is rumored to be involved in discussions regarding becoming an investor in the fund. If Redmond does invest, it will be under the condition that Softbank promotes Azure to its portfolio of companies. This is a rather aggressive strategy by Microsoft. The company is essentially trading investment for Azure cloud use. Many analysts have said the company has to be decisive to ensure its cloud business continues to grow....

“Azure Dedicated Hosts provide you with visibility and control to help address corporate compliance and regulatory requirements,” said Ziv Raflovich, principal program manager, Azure Compute. “We are extending Azure Hybrid Benefit to Azure Dedicated Hosts, so you can save money by using on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance or qualifying subscription licenses. Azure Dedicated Host is in preview in most Azure regions starting today.” Users can access the new functionality via the usual Azure Portal, with some key benefits....

Through its quarterly earnings report (Q2 fiscal 2019, Q4 2018 calendar), Microsoft announced revenue of $32.5 billion, up 12% year-on-year. The bumper revenue resulted in a good payday for the company, with net income of $8.4 billion, up 14%. So why a mixed bag? Well, while several of Microsoft’s divisions continued to thrive, perhaps the two most synonymous with the company remained static. In personal computing, Windows OEM declined 5% as the PC market contracted through the last quarter....

As reported by New Scientist, DeepCoder can search for the best source code combinations and integrate them to solve issues. By using program synthesis, the AI can separate good code and combine it to create new applications and solve challenges. DeepCoder uses information from a human programmer to get the best results. It can search quickly after receiving information such as available inputs and what the programmer wants the result to be....